New edition

The Reckoning

How #MeToo is Changing Australia

Quarterly Essay No. 84

Nov 2021

In this electrifying essay, Jess Hill traces the conditions that gave birth to #MeToo and tells the stories of women who – often at great personal cost – found themselves at the centre of this movement. Hill exposes the networks of backlash against them – in government, media, schools, and in our national psyche. This is a powerful essay about shame, secrecy and, most of all, a revolutionary movement for accountability.

“Here’s what men like Scott Morrison don’t understand: political spin has no power against the rage unleashed by #MeToo. At its heart, this is an accountability movement . . . The cultural revolution of #MeToo is not just about sexual violence. It is taking aim at patriarchy’s most sacred compact: the keeping of men’s secrets.”—Jess Hill,The Reckoning

“This time, women aren’t just sharing what happened to them – they’re pointing the finger. It’s not just I was raped, but he is the one who raped me – and they are the ones who protected him.”

- Quarterly essay

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"A shattering book: clear-headed and meticulous, driving always at the truth."
Helen Garner
“The most important book of the last decade on one of the most critical issues in our time.”
Rick Morton
100 Years of Dirt
"Jess Hill is a journalist whose clarity of expression and thought are of the highest order... (her) extraordinary call to action cannot be ignored."
Louise Swinn
Chair of the 2020 Stella Judging Panel
“One Australian a week is dying as a result of domestic abuse. If that was terrorism, we’d have armed guards on every corner.”
Jimmy Barnes
“An extraordinary work… power on every page… a meticulously researched piece of longform journalism.”
Lucy Clark
The Guardian
“Jess Hill’s reporting on gendered violence has changed the course of public policy in this country.”
Chris Minns
NSW Premier MP
“In some respects, The Reckoning is contemporary history – a first draft account of seismic developments that will continue to be dissected in the decades to come. Hill is to be commended for this tour de force of reportage and analysis.”
Kieran Pender
“What’s missing from Hill’s essay is a greater understanding of why many have been frustrated by and disappointed with the exploitation of the #MeToo movement... Not every claim under the #MeToo banner deserved, or deserves, to be taken seriously. Not all women are powerless patsies in the workplace.”
Janet Albrechtsen
“...Hill’s essay is so powerful. It lays down the narrative, without spin but with deep analysis, adding perspective to two years of anger and inaction. It displays the entire puzzle in clear, chronological daylight for all to see.”
Amber Schultz
"Jess Hill exhibits how the #MeToo movement has always derived power from storytelling — a chorus of survivors speaking together to testify that this harm is common but unacceptable. The essay maps the courage and tenacity of the survivors who have spoken up, spoken out and spoken back over the past five years."
Hannah Ryan and Gina Rushton
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Jess Hill is an Australian investigative journalist and author whose work has transformed national understanding of gendered violence. Through her in-depth reporting, she explores coercive control and the systems that enable it. Her work has been recognised with major awards, including the Walkley award and Stella Prize.
Jess now works across media, education, and advocacy to drive change and expand awareness of how violence can be prevented.
Close-up portrait of a woman with curly dark hair, red lipstick, wearing black sleeveless top and black earrings.

IMAGE BY:

Jesse Dittmar

Read The Book

The Reckoning

Quarterly Essay No. 84

Other Books By Jess Hill:
See What You Made Me Do
Black inc. Books
Losing It
Quarterly Essay No. 97